The Wide Shot December 2013: Cold

The first of each month I join Heather at Xericstyle to post a wide shot of my garden.  While it's fun to focus on the prettiest flowers in the garden the overall impression is what makes a landscape.

The weather has been unseasonably cold here in South Texas with near freezing lows most nights and cloudy days for the past week.

The front view of the garden does not change much throughout the year and that is by design.  I planned and planted a scheme that would work with the house to present a consistent face to the street with minimal work.

The yellowing Callicarpa americana leaves are still holding on though the Mockingbirds have taken care of most of the berries.  These are among the very few non-evergreen shrubs in the front yard and they are set against the year round silvery green of Eleaegnus which needs a top trim soon.

The Wide Shot: November 2013

The first of each month I join Heather at Xericstyle for a wide shot of my garden.  In keeping the view and timing close to the same I can track the changes in my garden throughout the year.

Today's wide shot of the front yard shows an unnamed volunteer Pennisetum ornamental grass blooming  next to the yucca by the mailbox.  This plant seeded itself from my neighbor's yard and the bonus is learning this type of grass does very well in the front yard.  I've tried growing ornamental grasses in this spot with mixed results and with this volunteer doing so well here I might try others in the future.

The Wide Shot: October 2013

It's the first of October and I'm joining Heather at Xericstyle to show a wide view of my garden.  At the beginning of each month Heather invites bloggers to show the big picture so readers can follow our garden progress.

It's interesting to compare with my last wide shot post at the beginning of September when the shadows were quite different.   The bright Autumn Sage or Salvia greggii is now blooming along the street.

The Wide Shot

When I began reading garden blogs for inspiration I noticed a focus on single flowers and plants.  Although closeup photos are beautiful and useful for learning about specific plants, I felt a larger context is sometimes needed to appreciate those details in the garden.  Like an Impressionist painting, things change quite a bit when you take a step or two back.  Fortunately there were blogs like Digging with a good combination of each to guide me and provide just what I was looking for at the time.  One of my goals when I decided to jump in with my own garden blog in October 2011 was to mix in plenty of wide shots so readers could follow along to see just how the details fit within my landscape as a whole.

When Heather at Xericstyle began blogging in January of 2012 I noted right away that she is also a fan of the wide shot.  Her photos often show the big picture so essential for understanding her garden design projects, providing more of a "tour" than simply looking at closeups.  Heather, who lives just a few minutes from me in San Antonio, is beginning a new blogger's meme today and encouraging bloggers to post a wide shot of our gardens on the first of each month.  A meme is a designated day when bloggers link together and post on the same subject.  Heather has posted the wide shot of her garden here.

Since I already post a lot of views from the left or south side I selected a straight-on view of the house this morning.  I love the shadow patterns on the stone walls just as the sun peeks over the hill.